Finally it was my birthday. I stayed up the whole night packing. At about 4 in the morning we all met in the lobby to go to the airport. We left about 15 minutes late on a big bus with us and about 25 other people. We had a great time on the bus celebrating my birthday, despite the fact that we had had too little sleep.
(Phoenix with a young quartet from the Conservatory of Music in Tashkent)
We got to the airport to find out that the Uzbek Airlines cancelled our tickets. Lee-Ann was furious because she reconfirmed the reservations twice. It only took her about 15 minutes to get our reservations back, get our tickets, and have us start checking in. We had about one hour to check in, go through customs, go through passport control, and board the plane. I think all of us were a little nervous that we weren't going to get on the plane. I know I was. With the help of Lee-Ann and the expeditor, we made it through just in time for boarding. The flight was long—about 8 hours. Everybody except for me slept for a good part of the duration of the flight. I sat thinking about my trip.
(the shopping girls)
After we got off the plane in Germany, we had to go to different terminals, so Michelle and I said goodbye to Susie, Joe, and Lee-Ann and went to our terminal to wait for our boarding time. We talked about the trip for a while then boarded the plane.
On the flight home, I thought about how absolutely amazing and overwhelming the tour was. I thought about how I will really miss the people that we met and about how kind and generous they were. I thought about how thankful I was to Carnegie Hall and the US State Department for making this one of the most unforgettable experiences that I will ever have. Then I felt really bad that I was leaving without thanking Lee-Ann for doing all the things that she did. We couldn't have done it without her. She is a big reason why I had so much fun on this tour.
(backstage after final concert in Tashkent)
When I got off the plane, I said goodbye to Michelle. I had 8 hours left for my birthday. It is truly the longest birthday that I will ever have.
- Ryan
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